Key Takeaways
- Meme tokens closed at $24.77 billion on August 17, 2026, up 0.34 percent, while Bitcoin fell 3.0 percent over seven days.
- At $0.0697, Dogecoin carries $10.84 billion, roughly four times the $2.64 billion behind Shiba Inu.
- Stage 1 of the Bullski sale sold out at $0.00001, and stage 2 has since placed 45,829,562 tokens at $0.000015.
- Supply is fixed at 120 billion and moves through a 16-stage ladder toward a launch benchmark of $0.0025.
Every list of the best meme coins reads louder than the market it describes. Meme tokens together were worth $24.77 billion on August 17, 2026, up 0.34 percent on the day, with $0.88 billion traded. Dogecoin held $0.0697 and Shiba Inu $0.00000447 while Bitcoin gave up 3.0 percent across the week.
One name below carries no chart at all, because Bullski still sells on a published ladder.
Where the Meme Sector Stood on August 17, 2026
Sector figures set the frame. Meme tokens finished the day at $24.77 billion, a gain of 0.34 percent, on $0.88 billion of volume. Majors did worse over seven days, with Bitcoin down 3.0 percent and Ethereum down 2.1 percent.
Money shuffled around inside crypto instead of leaving it.
Quick answer: Shortlists of the best meme coins to buy open with Dogecoin at $10.84 billion and close with Floki at $196 million. Neither publishes tomorrow’s price, which is the difference a reader notices at the meme presale on rung two.
Peak prices explain the mood. Roughly 90.5 percent separates Dogecoin from the $0.7316 it printed on May 7, 2021, and Shiba Inu sits about 94.8 percent under its October 2021 high. Reclaiming that ground takes billions of fresh dollars, not enthusiasm.
Top Meme Coins by Market Cap on August 17, 2026
Five names follow. Four trade all day on open markets, so live orders set their prices. One prices itself in advance, which is why it goes first.
Bullski ($BULLSKI), the Meme Coin Priced on a Ladder
Built to the ERC-20 standard, Bullski runs on Ethereum with supply locked at 120 billion tokens. Two of every five are set aside for presale buyers. Sixteen prices are published ahead of time on a 16-stage ladder, and each rung costs more than the last.
Stage 1 sold out at $0.00001 with all 1,192,283,023 of its tokens claimed. Stage 2 asks $0.000015, stage 3 is set at $0.00002, and the schedule closes on a $0.0025 listing reference. Steps move when a rung empties, not when a clock runs down.
Paperwork lands before payment does. Contract code sits verified and public on Etherscan, auditors are working through it now, the founding allocation unlocks on a vesting timetable, and liquidity is locked as soon as the token goes live. Payment runs on ETH, BNB or USDT, while staking and referral rewards operate throughout the sale.
Dogecoin (DOGE), the $10.84 Billion Benchmark
Dogecoin was quoted at $0.0697 on August 17, 2026, down 0.3 percent on the day and 0.5 percent on the week, for a $10.84 billion market value, per CoinGecko. Roughly 155.5 billion DOGE circulate, and new coins are minted every minute. It trades about 90.5 percent below its $0.7316 record from May 7, 2021.
Shiba Inu (SHIB) and a 589 Trillion Float
Shiba Inu traded at $0.00000447 for $2.64 billion, off 2.1 percent on the day and 2.8 percent on the week. Around 589 trillion tokens exist, so each extra decimal of price demands enormous inflows. SHIB remains close to 94.8 percent under the $0.00008616 it hit on October 27, 2021.
Pepe (PEPE), the Weakest Week in This Group
Pepe changed hands at $0.0000026 for $1.09 billion, a 1.2 percent fall on the day and 9.0 percent across seven days. About 420 trillion tokens make up that float. Ethereum meme coins such as PEPE share a chain with Bullski, though the presale caps supply at 120 billion rather than trillions.
Floki (FLOKI), the Smallest Cap on the Page
Floki edged up 0.1 percent to $0.00002031, worth $196 million, with a 4.0 percent loss over the week. Among these tokens it ships the widest feature set. FLOKI still sits roughly 94.1 percent below its $0.00034495 high.
| Token | Meme coin price on August 17, 2026 | Market value | Move over seven days | Gap to its high |
| Bullski ($BULLSKI) | $0.000015 at stage 2 | Not listed yet | Ladder step, not a chart | No high set |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | $0.0697 | $10.84 billion | Down 0.5% | About 90.5% |
| Shiba Inu (SHIB) | $0.00000447 | $2.64 billion | Down 2.8% | About 94.8% |
| Pepe (PEPE) | $0.0000026 | $1.09 billion | Down 9.0% | About 90.7% |
| Floki (FLOKI) | $0.00002031 | $196 million | Down 4.0% | About 94.1% |
Column four does the sorting. Each traded token above lost ground over the week, and Pepe lost the most at 9.0 percent. Bullski went the other way, since its step changes only when a rung empties.
Detail on that sell-out sits in what we covered on the sell-out.
Memecoin News a Buyer Can Actually Check
Announcements are easy to make and counters are harder to fake. Stage 2 opened with 1,400,000,000 tokens, of which 45,829,562 were taken by August 17, 2026, leaving 1,354,170,438. Sale-wide, 1,238,112,585 tokens have gone.
Anyone weighing the supply side can set Bullski’s fixed 120 billion cap against a float measured in trillions.
Scarcity is the contrast that matters. Shiba Inu spreads $2.64 billion across roughly 589 trillion tokens, and Pepe spreads $1.09 billion across about 420 trillion. Bullski divides a 120 billion cap across sixteen published steps instead.
On timing, our look at entry timing compares what each rung asks of a buyer.
Good to know: A meme coin presale sells tokens before any exchange lists them, so the number comes from a schedule rather than from meme coin trading on an order book.
Rung Two Is Filling and $0.00002 Waits Above It
Sell-outs are the clearest signal a sale can give. Stage 1 emptied at $0.00001 with every token gone, and that result carried buyers to $0.000015. Published one step higher, stage 3 asks $0.00002, a third more than today.
How to pick up $BULLSKI at $0.000015: start with USDT, BNB or ETH sitting in a wallet you control, go to the project page itself, see where the live counter has stopped, then pick up $BULLSKI at the live price. Leave a small ETH balance behind for Ethereum network fees.
Remember: Every counter quoted here was read on August 17, 2026. Your order takes whichever rung the official site is showing at the moment you pay.
Do your own research before buying any presale token. This article is not financial advice.
Best Meme Coins: Questions Readers Send Us
What Is a Meme Coin?
Meme coins draw their pull from a joke, a mascot or a crowd online instead of a business plan. Dogecoin opened the category in 2013 and still leads it at $10.84 billion. Value follows attention and token count, which is why supply figures deserve a long look.
How to Buy Meme Coins?
Traded names such as DOGE and SHIB are bought on exchanges at whatever the order book shows. Presale tokens work differently. You hold USDT, BNB or ETH in your own wallet, visit the project page directly, and pay whichever rung is showing.
Readers comparing the best meme coins to buy now are really comparing those two routes.
Where to Buy Meme Coins?
Exchanges carry the four traded tokens above. Bullski sells through its official site alone while the ladder runs, at $0.000015 for stage 2. Reaching that page from a saved bookmark beats clicking a link sent by a stranger.
Are Meme Coins a Good Investment?
History shows the category swings hard in both directions. Dogecoin sits 90.5 percent under its 2021 record, yet the sector still held $24.77 billion on August 17, 2026. Position size matters more than picking the loudest ticker, and the best new meme coins get judged on supply and published terms rather than noise.
For More Information
DISCLAIMER: CAPTAINALTCOIN DOES NOT ENDORSE INVESTING IN ANY PROJECT MENTIONED IN SPONSORED ARTICLES. EXERCISE CAUTION AND DO THOROUGH RESEARCH BEFORE INVESTING YOUR MONEY. CaptainAltcoin takes no responsibility for its accuracy or quality. This content was not written by CaptainAltcoin’s team. We strongly advise readers to do their own thorough research before interacting with any featured companies. The information provided is not financial or legal advice. Neither CaptainAltcoin nor any third party recommends buying or selling any financial products. Investing in crypto assets is high-risk; consider the potential for loss. Any investment decisions made based on this content are at the sole risk of the readCaptainAltcoin is not liable for any damages or losses from using or relying on this content.
